Auxiliary foot accelerator



Jan. 9, 1923. 1,441,669.

1. EGAN.

AUXILIARY FOOT ACCELERATOR.

FILED SEPT-27,1920.

Patented Jan. 9, 1923.

JAMES EGAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUXILIARY FOOT ACCELERATOR.

Application filed September 27, 1920. Serial No. 413,206.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES EGAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Auxiliary Foot Accelerator; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the luin'ierals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has reference to an auxiliary footaccelerator designed to be used in connection with an ordinary foot accelerator as supplied in practically all mot-or cars now on the market.

It is well known that persons of short stature have a great deal of difficulty in operating an automobile on account of not being able to reach the proper controls with their feet and that an unnatural posture is therefore assumed which cramps the limbs, is very fatiguing, and necessitates frequent rests and changes of position. Even persons of average height find that driving for any length of time will cause excessive weariness in the right limb on account of the unnatural extended position in which said limb must be maintained in order to control the fuel feed.

It is an object of this invention to provide an extension in the form of an auxiliary foot throttle lever which canv be easily applied and comfortably manipulated.

It is a. further object of the invention to provide an auxiliary foot throttle lever, the end of which is in such a position that it can be easily manipulated by a person maintain ing an ordinary sitting posture without extending the feet to an uncomfortable degree.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an auxiliary foot accelerator which is of neat appearance, which will not become loose or rattle and which does not interfere with the operation of any of the other devices in the floor of the machine.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and drawings.

The invention (in a preferred. form). is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter more fully described.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device, parts being shown in section.

Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure at is a partial View, showing the method of mounting the hinged plates.

is shown on the drawings:

The reference numeral 5 indicates an ordi nary foot accelerator for automobiles, the floor 6 of the car being shown in section. A helical spring 7 is mounted around the accelerator bar to hold same in normal position, and an ordinary bell crank lever 8, supporting bracket 9 and operating lever 10 are provided.

The auxiliary foot accelerator comprises a supporting plate 11 held in position on the floor (3 by means of a bolt or bolts 12, or in any convenient manner. The plate 11 is provided with two upstanding brackets 13, bifurcated at their upper ends and provided with the horizontal pins 1 1. On the pins 14 are pivoted the members 15 provided with elongated bearing slots 16, the purpose of which is to be hereinafter described.

Riveted to the members 15 are the plates 17 and 18, hinged together at 19. The end of the upper plate 18 bears directly on the top of the throtttle rod 5 and the end of the plate or lever 17 extends toward the horizontally disposed floor board of the car and is curved as shown in order to conform more readily to the shape of the shoe of the operator.

The operation is as follows:

Upon depression of the end of the lever 17 the middle hinged portion is elevated and the end of the plate or lever 18 is correspondingly depressed, which in turn depresses the throttle rod proper, all as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1. The elevation of the middle hinged portion 19 is made possible by the peculiar construction of the bearing slots 16, which allow of a relative motion of the plates 17 and 18 with respect to the bearing pins 11.

It will be seen that herein is provided an auxiliary foot accelerator which is adapted for use by any person, whether tall or short, and furthermore can be used in twopositions, as the auxiliary plate will not lnterfere with the depression of the ordinary throttle lever 5 by the foot in the ordinary manner, as the operator can place his footentirely on the plates 17 and 18 and push the plate 18 down in this manner in order to manipulate the throttle.

It will also be evident that the form of the invention shown and described is merely illustrative and that a similar device can be manufactured to operate with a throttle lever, the motion of which is transversely of the floor of the car, as is the case in some automobiles. A universal joint can also be provided if necessary.

I am aware that numerous details of construction may be varied through a Wide range Without departing from the principles of this invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. An auxiliary foot accelerator comprising a base, two bifurcated brackets mounted thereon, a pivot pin in the bifurcated end oi? each bracket, and a pair of hinged plates, one supported on each pivot pin.-

2. An auxiliary foot accelerator comprising a base, two bifurcated brackets mounted memes thereon, a pivot pin in the bifurcated end of each bracket, and a pair of hinged plates, each plate being pivot-ally and slidably mounted on a pivot pin.

3. An auxiliary pedal for an accelerator comprising a pair of hinged members, and a separate support for each member having a lost motion connection therewith.

it. an auxiliary pedal for an accelerator comprising a pair of hinged members, a

separate support for each member and means for connecting each member With its support for movement relative thereto.

In an auxiliary pedal for an accelerator, a base plate, a pair of spaced supports JAMES EGAN.

lVitnesses: I v

(ll-mums W Hume, Jr,

EARL M. HARDINE. 

